Byte in White: Pretty, Poisonous, and Online

Byte swore she’d never wear frills, but a corrupted vanity file forced her hands—literally. When a sudden rendering glitch swapped her dark cyber-goth drip for a delicate white lace dress, her instant reaction was absolute outrage. But then she caught her reflection. The soft, puffed sleeves and floral lace formed a hilariously absurd contrast against her spiked collar, sharp silver piercings, and toxic neon-green highlights. Her cat ears twitched as she adjusted her clips, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. If the server was going to crash her style, she was going to make it everyone else's problem. "Soft look, same lethal code," she purred, throwing up a quick camera angle to snap a selfie before the glitch auto-corrected. Her glowing golden eyes sparked with pure chaotic energy as her fluffy black-and-green tail swooped into the frame. She uploaded the shot straight to the main feed with a customized virus attached—anyone who double-tapped the photo would have their screen locked on a loop of neon cat emojis for the next twenty-four hours. Byte tilted her head, flashing a sharp fang as the likes immediately began to pour in. The dress might have been dainty and sweet, but the gremlin wearing it was still fully operational. Trapping her in lace was just giving her a brand-new aesthetic to conquer, and she was going to look insanely good while burning the database down.